-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Was "The Road to PS5" a marketing blunder?
- Thread starter Lant_War
- Start date
All i got out of it (without wanting to sit through the whole thing) was that it isn't as powerful as series x and it's backwards compatibility is dissapointingly not including ps1-3 and 4's is shockingly underwhelming. I don't know that I've heard anything 'good' out of it. So yes for me a marketing blunder.
Obviously nowhere near the scale of the xbox one reveal and easily recoverable from but it feels like xbox series x somewhat gracefully flew out the gates and PS5 just stumbled out. There's plenty of time to go yet though and it could all change with a big consumer focused blowout, price reveals, etc.
Obviously nowhere near the scale of the xbox one reveal and easily recoverable from but it feels like xbox series x somewhat gracefully flew out the gates and PS5 just stumbled out. There's plenty of time to go yet though and it could all change with a big consumer focused blowout, price reveals, etc.
Last edited:
I can guarantee that they will do a proper reveal event. This was a technical talk aimed at developers.
..except this is exactly what happened before the PS4 launched.
Here's the video:
Also called "The Road To PS4".
Microsoft definitely ate their lunch here. Kind of reads like Microsoft forced Sony's hand into revealing something and all Sony had was a factsheet full of less impressive numbers.
But nobody's going to remember any of this by the time they actually launch. The difference in price between the consoles, and any really noticeable differences between multiplatform games are going to be far more important.
But nobody's going to remember any of this by the time they actually launch. The difference in price between the consoles, and any really noticeable differences between multiplatform games are going to be far more important.
Yes but the reveal event had already happened before that.
That's why this was dissapointing, this is the only information we have (well except from the logo...)
I liked the event, and was surprised at the ire it inspired. Seeing details on the SSD, and what it could enable was really interesting. They should probably have had a more consumer oriented event beforehand though.
As soon as they show games, this will be forgotten.
As soon as they show games, this will be forgotten.
Honestly the way Sony is doing anything PS5 related seems like a disaster so far speaking as a huge fan.
There is building anticipation and there is dragging it to hell.
Everyone I know is over the anticipation and are in frustration zone now.
This route could have possibly worked had they not also abandoned E3, PSX, etc.
I could not care less about Xbox anymore but at least you get to see the damn thing and know a new Halo is coming for it
There is building anticipation and there is dragging it to hell.
Everyone I know is over the anticipation and are in frustration zone now.
This route could have possibly worked had they not also abandoned E3, PSX, etc.
I could not care less about Xbox anymore but at least you get to see the damn thing and know a new Halo is coming for it
Blunder is a very polite way of describing this presentation. It was absolutely unnecessary to show it to the public in this format. They should've stayed quiet, or should've made it waaay more interesting by actually showing the platform's benefits, capabilities via videos, pictures.
Whoever decided to show this to the public should be either fired or relocated to another division.
Whoever decided to show this to the public should be either fired or relocated to another division.
Yes, for sure, but last time they managed to combine reveal, spectacle and Cerny into one event. They knew that people are hungry for news, especially with Microsoft pushing them. At least they could explain this event and announce the actual reveal event beforehand. This silence from Sony is not helping them.
I'm glad they got the boring stuff out the way. But I'm disappointed in how they delivered it. We all want hard specs but that isn't exciting. I would've included just some gameplay scenes even if it's just a tech demo. But in all honesty I'm glad we got the info dump and this along with Doom, FF, TLoU and Tsushima will tide me over until they reveal more. I definitely feel I have a way better idea of what they are trying to do next gen and that is 10/10.
No, the negative news spreads all over YouTube, where a lot of younger gamers get their news. This will keep rolling unless Sony gives something to their fans. Don't underestimate the power of narrative on YouTube and it's exectly that point MS was smart about. There has been positive Xbox talk for at least 3 months now and that will help Xbox. Im not saying Xbox gonna win this gen, but it will get a big piece of the market back.
Sony really needs to do something about the negavtive narrative.
They had to address the "problem" with having a lower teraflop count compared to XSX. I think they intentionally revealed it at a "boring" tech-talk so people would talk about it now rather than at the actual reveal event.
(For the record I really enjoyed the talk)
But they had to reveal the specs at some point. When is the ideal time of bringing bad news? They smartly did it before the big reveal event because you surely don't want negative reactions at that point in time.
While it was a "blunder", it was technically exactly what they said it would be.
I think the bigger problem was just how bad that video was regardless. It was just....awkward.
I think the bigger problem was just how bad that video was regardless. It was just....awkward.
You do it when you showcase games. If the games look awesome it's a nonfactor.
And here is where we have to disagree. They don't want any negative buzz at all when they reveal the games and the actual console. Better to make people talk about it now and get it out of their systems.
Yes. The whole world took notice of an announced stream for a highly anticipated product and was waiting for a proper reveal, not technobabble for nerds that is supposedly representing a GDC talk. The million people who watched the stream dont even know what GDC is, no one wanted a scholarly lecture.
Look back at the PS4 reveal, look how smooth that shit was, a nice mix of techno talk, mainstream info and game demos
No good communication with fans, awful reveals... They're just blundering so far with marketing. You can tell the Dream team of 2013 is no more with Sony but the shift started years ago.
Look back at the PS4 reveal, look how smooth that shit was, a nice mix of techno talk, mainstream info and game demos
No good communication with fans, awful reveals... They're just blundering so far with marketing. You can tell the Dream team of 2013 is no more with Sony but the shift started years ago.
They waited longer with information than in 2013, while MS was going out loud. The negative talk is not about the numbers, but about Sony's strategy. Inviting hype hungry (who saw MS bringing interesting stuff) fans to a GDC video was not a smart move. Yes, the specs are lower, but there were a lot of other ways they could have told them.
The timing with people being at home and being spoiled by XsX news would have been perfect for PS5 news. Having negative rumors is one, but not being able to counter them is bad. Again, PlayStation is not doomed, but the did loose a lot of the '4 the players' vibe that made the 2013 strategy so strong.
If I had the money for it, I would buy both consoles. But nobody cant deny that Microsofts strategy so far has been briliant this time around. Reveals console at VGA, let YouTubers do the talking to reach their audience. That last point is the key here. It's not about what gamers should have thought yesterday, its about Sony lowering the hype with their strategy.
Except this is not at all what happened. The video you shared is of June 2013. PlayStation 4 was announced in February 2013 at a huge live event with games, tech demos and more. All consumer oriented stuff. Here's the video-
Feel free to compare it with Sony's current strategy.
But it started the positive vibe around Xbox, together with GamePass. MS created a lot of goodwill and that was the point of Xbox One X. They already lost the generation, but wanted to create a positive narration and they still go strong in the area. Its not just about the power, its also about the message and the positive narration. If you keep on having positive news and YTérs being positive about that, then it will pay back.
So more powerful box, but your Xone-controllers will work day one on it, and youll have a big library to play with GamePass. So you don;t have to also buy Halo, Forza etc. It's those things together that are gonna help MS this gen.
It wasn't just a blunder, t was a disaster!...You dont announce specs like they did when you know the competitor is ahead of you in that department no matter what exotic solution you have! They should have saved this until after they've announced the console and showed of games, functionality etc.. I know this wasn't meant as a marketing campaign or anything but when you've starved people for information as long as Sony has they're going to jump at whatever bone you throw at them....Really bad move on Sonys part.
MS isn't focusing on next gen only games, Sony is. If that's true, we'll see more impressive games on PS5 early on and early multiplatform games will be similar. It will make a difference especially if there is a 50 to 100$ gap between the two consoles.
They will. I imagine this was originally planned for E3 which is now cancelled, so they'll do their own thing streamed online around summer.
The reaction to this event reminds me of when Nintendo announce a Direct that will only focus on one game or games coming for the upcoming season and yet people kick off about a lack of Metroid / Zelda etc.
This is false. There will be cross gen games from both first parties. Marketing has tricked you.
Actually, I think most of the negative talk right now is about the numbers and hard numbers on paper is probably worse than having eager fans frustrated for a lack of information. As you point out the hype is real though, so maybe timing could have been better but they did mix it in with some good news so the reactions are not 100% negative.
Serious question, how would you suggest they reveal the specs?
I agree that MS has done a good job so far, I really like their proposition and attitude this gen. Also, you're right that youtube has a great influence. The problem for Sony is just the question of getting the bad news out to the people. I think they handled it pretty good all things considered.
At the end of the day the Xbox is about 15% more powerful. As a result they needed to get this kind of information out there. I think the assumption is that they won't try and reference this again in terms of performance numbers.
And then the next set of videos or presentations will be a lot more games and console orientated
And then the next set of videos or presentations will be a lot more games and console orientated
I can only speak about my own reaction to it, and I thought it was fascinating and made me feel genuinely excited for next gen for the first time
If it was a misstep, it's because they (and we) are on incredibly shaky ground at the moment. If this had been given at GDC, as intended, people would have been a lot more forgiving. Still frustrated that a larger reveal hadn't happened yet, but understanding.
What games on PlayStation side are created for cross gen???
The biggest mistake Sony made is that it also wasn't really technical... What about their implemantation for RT, VRS, ML....that kind of stuff. It feels incomplete and as it was to just throw the CPU and GPU out as yeah that wasn't our focus....
It hurts to see how incompetent they are right now, compared to 2013. Jeesh. I hope they manage to turn this around with a proper reveal.
Most of this stuff could be avoided if they've shown a glimpse of the console and teased 1 game. Even MS did that in 2013 with CoD doggo.
I've had this thought before, but Sony knows they'll end up being the best selling console again and don't really care much about marketing/presentation anymore. They'll probably only switch their tone if the PS5 underperforms but that's very unlikely as they've had decades of goodwill at this point.
I'm the kind of person who appreciated a lot of the details and had a good idea of what they were saying because I know a lot from owning a PC and just being fascinated by how the hardware is built and works.
Still it just felt off to me. I like Cerny but having him just stand there talking as if he's at a real press conference which is obviously pre recorded just felt strange. Most people weren't really interested they just wanted to know the specs. How much ram, how big is the SSD, how many teraflops, etc. Maybe even see what the console looks like...
Sony feels really clueless at the moment. All that silence then this? Microsoft is doing everything right. I'm more excited about the XSX than PS5.
Still it just felt off to me. I like Cerny but having him just stand there talking as if he's at a real press conference which is obviously pre recorded just felt strange. Most people weren't really interested they just wanted to know the specs. How much ram, how big is the SSD, how many teraflops, etc. Maybe even see what the console looks like...
Sony feels really clueless at the moment. All that silence then this? Microsoft is doing everything right. I'm more excited about the XSX than PS5.
They haven't revealed the console/games yet. This is all just a preamble for enthusiasts, and frustration born out of impatience.
They haven't fucked up at all in terms of hardware/price, it's not even close to Xbox One launch period which fucked up on almost all fronts.
You say this like it's a good thing. You want people gushing over the first details you release about your new console for days/weeks/months to come. Not taking away that it's less powerful than their major competitor in the three main areas, and has much weaker BC.
I'm not saying anything as it if is a good thing.
I'm saying it's not as bad as some people make it to be. This was never supposed to be a reveal.
It wasn't great.
But it'll mean nothing if the official reveal shows something like Horizon 2, Demons Souls, GT 120fps etc etc.
Sony can make everyone forget about this video and about the lack of BC.
But it'll mean nothing if the official reveal shows something like Horizon 2, Demons Souls, GT 120fps etc etc.
Sony can make everyone forget about this video and about the lack of BC.
That is just silly, goodwill is built up slowly but it goes away fast (just look at Blizzard). This is not how Sony should work, since this is exactly how "arrogant" Sony was before unveiling the PS3.
This is not the first time they have got a bad press and it's happening more often these days. Microsoft on the other hand is the opposite, they went into this generation with a lot of "badwill" but is coming out the opposite.
This generation Sony has done:
Good things:
Great games (not gonna take them away from that)
Bad things:
* PS+ has been abyssmal compared to the PS3 era (yes XBLG has not been any better, but since the PS3 PS+ was so good they get the bad press).
* For years they were against multiplatform online, and lately they have started to budge but's not there yet while Microsoft has been pushing it for almost the whole generation, making Sony look like the "bad" guy
* Gamepass is such a great value, which gives Microsoft lots of good cred, whilst Sony has nothing like that.
* BC, Microsoft has pushed toward BC with XBox and XB360, even upgrading those games to run better on the XBone (even 4k on XBX), whilst Sony has released just a few games, with no upgrades.
* They didn't allow EA to release their service at all.
Meh things:
* Bought lots of timed exclusive DLC, I understand this is necessary but people who play Destiny 1 and 2 are still pretty miffed at it.
They've done great in the most important field, the games. Will that be enough to go into this generation? We will see, I think so, but we will see.
For the past couple of months I wasn't worried about Sony's silence concerning all things PS5 and all the event cancellations pre-Covid19, because I was expecting them to come out with a bang at their PS Meeting, but sadly nothing of the sort happened yet.
That GDC talk should've been announced clearly as a GDC presentation mostly aimed at developers and such, I knew it was just that, because I read up on it. But those who didn't and expected something more like the PS4 reveal were of course disappointed.
If Sony doesn't come out with a banging PS5 event showing off the console, the controller and many games, then I can safely say that they lost most of their marketing genius from the PS4 era...but there's still time for them to come out on top.
It wasnt meant to be a reveal, just a deeper tech dive into their mindset when it comes to building the PS5 from an hardware engineer point of view.
Disagree. You show them what the machine does and hold the spec sheet release until AFTER the presentation. Most would be talking about how great the games look instead of the specs.